The Next Generation of Romance
by Liv Cassidy
Summary: The next generation of surgeons at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital is in the making. Join Zola, Bailey, Sofia, and Tuck as they live in their parents' footsteps to become Seattle's next world renowned surgeons. They'll fall in love, friendships will be strained, lives will be put in danger, and hearts will be broken as they strive to live up to their legacies.
1. Chapter 1

**Sofia**

_Look away, Sofia, _third-year resident Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres told herself, as she downed another sip of her margarita. She couldn't look away, though. Sofia's heart burned as she looked at her best friend, Zola Grey Shepherd, giggling across the bar. It wasn't Zola's face that Sofia's eyes were glued to, though. Sofia's eyes couldn't look away from the man in the chair across from Zola: Zola's boyfriend of nearly two years. The couple's fingers were locked together. Sofia's heart felt as though it had been stabbed with a knife: the same knife that stabbed her every time she saw Zola and Tuck together.

Sofia and Zola had been best friends since they were in diapers. They were both raised by world renowned surgeons. Sofia could remember as a child spending endless days at Zola's house when her mother was working. After her other mother had died, her mother seeped into a deep depression. It wasn't until Sofia was much older, though, that she learned the whole story behind her mother's woes.

She learned that her biological father had died after a horrible plane crash when she was only a year old. Her other mother had also been in that plane crash, which had resulted in the loss of one of her legs. Then, she was unfaithful. Her mothers had actually been separated for some time by the time Arizona Robbins decided to take her own life. Sofia learned this all after she graduated high school, and she'd found it mind boggling. Her Aunt Meredith and Uncle Derek, Zola's parents, had been there to support her mother and her throughout her entire childhood.

Sofia and Zola had wanted to be doctors since they were small children. As young kids, they used to "practice" on Zola's little brother Bailey. Zola would also preform brain surgery to remove his aneurysms from his head, and Sofia would fix his spine. As Bailey grew older, he started to perform "surgeries" on them, too.

Bailey was two years behind Sofia and Zola, though all three had attended Dartmouth College. Zola had graduated number one in her class, and Sofia number two. All her life, it seemed, Sofia had been one step behind Zola.

She shook her head, as she downed the rest of the margarita. Zola had it all. She had two loving parents who would do anything in the world for her. She had a brother to fight with who would always have her back. She was the best resident at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Lastly, she was dating the perfect, gorgeous Dr. William George Bailey Jones, better known as "Tuck."

There Sofia sat at the bar. Alone and empty inside. She was a mediocre surgeon. She'd only done so well in college thanks to Zola's help and support. Zola was the type of person who would stick an arm and a leg out for her friends. She would jump in front of a bullet if it meant she could save her friend's life. People say she inherited that trait from her mother, and Sofia could definitely believe it. Zola's mother was one of the kindest persons Sofia knew, though Zola often took that for granted.

Sofia couldn't help but focus her eyes on Tuck. He was handsome, and she didn't want to feel this way about him. His mother was the Chief of Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital now, and she had done her residency alongside Sofia's mother. Sofia and Zola didn't know Tuck growing up, though, because he'd been so much older than them. It hadn't been until Sofia and Zola started their internship that they became acquainted with him. Tuck had then been a fourth-year resident. This was his first year as an attending.

Looking at the happy couple brought nothing but sorrow to Sofia's body. She was supposed to be happy for her friend, but it wasn't her fault these feelings would not subside. You don't choose who you fall in love with, do you?

**Zola**

Tuck's hands were warm, as usual. Zola smiled as she looked into his loving eyes. She was so happy. No man had been able to make her as happy as Tuck did.

"I can't believe you're an attending now," Zola said to Tuck, widening her eyes. "You're officially my boss again. You get to make the calls on all the surgeries."

"Yeah, I guess I am. I guess I do," laughed Tuck, leaning in to kiss Zola on the lips.

"I just hope this won't affect our relationship or anything," Zola said softly, feeling a chill sweep over her.

"Why would it? It's not like you're an intern," Tuck shrugged. Zola knew that he was right, and she didn't know why she was so worried. Her own parents had started dating when her mother was an intern and her father was an attending; her parents were the happiest couple she knew. They'd made their relationship work, so Zola knew that she and Tuck could too.

"Oh, you know. I just don't want you giving me all the good surgeries because I'm your girlfriend or anything," Zola giggled, and Tuck leaned in and kissed her lips again.

"Of course I'd never do that," Tuck chuckled, and then added, "I'll be giving you the best surgeries because you're the best resident we have at Grey Sloan Memorial."

A smile formed on Zola's face as she gazed into Tuck's eyes, realizing how much she truly loved him. She considered herself to be one of the luckiest girls in the world, even though her mother had voiced opposition to their relationship. Zola didn't understand what her mother's problem was. For most her childhood, her mother had spent her days at work. Zola understood that her mother had been in her final year of residency when her parents adopted her. As a surgeon herself, Zola understood the demands of the job. What Zola didn't understand was why the minute she started dating, her mother suddenly had an opinion about everything.

When she was young, Zola's mom was the "cool" parent, who always wanted to have fun with her and her brother when she was around; whereas her dad had been to lay down the discipline. Everything changed when Zola became a teenager, and that's when her relationship with her mother started to drown. Bailey had always been a Momma's boy, and he still was today.

For Zola, it was when her mother started disapproving of every guy she brought home that put a strain on the relationship. She'd come up with the most pathetic reasons, too.

"His hair is too long."

"Red heads have no soul."

"He wants to be a vet? We don't date vets."

All were direct quotes from her mother. And she still hadn't given her a reason for disliking Tuck, other than the fact that "it wasn't a good idea to get involved with your colleagues during your residency, when you should be focusing on becoming a surgeon." Her mother was a total hypocrite, and Zola didn't understand her reasoning at all.

Zola's heart melted every time she looked at Tuck and thought back to when they first officially met.

_It was day one of her surgical internship. She'd just started her first thirty-six hour shift. Her heart was pounding with excitement as she looked at the atmosphere that surrounded her. Zola had been raised here. She'd spent numerous hours playing in this hospital as a child. She remembered going to daycare. She remembered being passed from doctor to doctor after hours, when her parents had been called into important surgeries and a babysitter wasn't available. She had so many memories in this hospital, and now she, like her parents, was a doctor here._

_She knew that she had big footsteps to follow. Both her parents were world renowned surgeons. She'd taken on the name Dr. Grey-Shepherd, because the last thing she wanted was to be confused with her father. Zola Grey-Shepherd wanted to be her own person. She wanted to develop her own legacy. _

"_Okay, Interns. One of you is going to be performing a laparoscopic appendectomy with me today. Whoever the first to tell me the difference between a laparoscopic appendectomy and an open appendectomy gets to scrub-in with me," her lead resident announced to the group. _

_She only knew him as Dr. Jones at the time. She didn't know who he was, or what he stood for. She knew that she wasn't the only surgeon with a legacy in the hospital, but it hadn't sunk in quite yet. _

_She raised her hand. "A laparoscopic appendectomy is less invasive. A small camera is inserted through a small incision in the abdomen to help remove the appendix."_

"_Good job. You're scrubbing in. The rest of you can skedaddle!" He motioned for the other interns to leave the room._

"_Lucky," her best friend, Sofia, murmured in Zola's ear before leaving the room. _

"_You're Zola Grey-Shepherd, right?" asked Dr. Jones once the other interns had left the room. Zola was immediately shocked that he knew who she was. Usually, people recognized her name when she told them who she was because of her parents, though she often heard "You weren't who I was expecting," and she knew exactly what that meant. Both of her parents were light skinned, and she was not. They were expecting a light skinned, blonde-haired blue eyed pretty female, like her mother. So, it was only natural that they were alarmed when they saw a black woman standing before them with the last name Grey-Shepherd. _

"_Um, yes, that's me," she responded. "How'd you know?"_

"_You don't know who I am, do you?" Dr. Jones laughed. His grin was wide, and that's when she noticed how perfectly white his teeth were. She shook her head. "Well, my mom was your mom's lead resident during her internship."_

"_Your mom is Dr. Bailey, the Chief of Surgery?" Zola's mouth dropped, as the connections were made in her brain. "It's Tuck, right?"_

_Tuck chuckled. "That's what they call me." Their eyes locked for the first time, and he smiled, "You've grown up since I last saw you." _

And the rest was history.

**Bailey**

Derek Bailey Shepherd anxiously walked into Joe's Bar. He had just returned to Seattle after spending seven years in Boston. It was unbelievable that tomorrow he would begin his first year as a surgical intern at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the same hospital his mother and grandmother had done their residencies. It was also the same hospital his older sister was doing her residency. Bailey knew that he had big shoes to fill.

The first person Bailey saw in the bar was Sofia. She wasn't exactly the type of girl you missed. Her dark hair was let down, and she was wearing a pretty pink blouse. She looked stunning, as usual. He'd missed her so much, since she and Zola had graduated college and moved back to Seattle.

Now, she was sitting by the bar by herself, sipping a margarita. Bailey frowned, noticing how sad she looked. Her eyes were focused intently on something. He soon realized that she was watching his sister and Tuck. They were laughing and talking in the corner of the bar.

_Poor Sofia, _Bailey thought, thinking how bad Sofia must feel with them ignoring her.

He walked over to Sofia, and smiled. "Hey, Sof."

"Bailey!" Sofia lit up, standing up and wrapping her arms around him. "How've you been? I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too. It's great to see you again," Bailey smiled, kindly looking into her sweet eyes. His heart began to beat faster as he admired her beauty. He could feel his face flushing, though he hoped she didn't notice. He breathed slowly through his nose, trying to control himself.

"So, the gang's all back in Seattle," giggled Sofia. It warmed Bailey's heart to see Sofia smile again. Before, she'd looked so lonely. He was glad that he was able to bring a smile back to her face.

"Yeah, I can't believe I almost didn't come back," confessed Bailey. He hadn't chose Grey Sloan Memorial as the place he would do his internship lightly. The hospital held so much history for him personally. He was the third generation to do his internship at this hospital. He feared being compared to his sister, his parents, and his late grandmother. He already knew that his parents expected great things from him.

His father had encouraged him to look at other hospitals, to possibly consider staying out east. He had loads of cousins on the east coast, some of which he'd grown to know while he lived there. His mother, on the other hand, encouraged him to come back to Seattle. He knew that she missed him, and they'd always been close. She offered him his old room back, insisting there was plenty of room in the house now that Zola had moved in with her boyfriend. It all fit together, and despite the daily rain showers, Bailey had missed Seattle. Most of all, though, he missed Sofia.

"I'm glad you came back," smiled Sofia, patting him on the back. She motioned for Bailey to take a seat next to her. "You better enjoy tonight, because tomorrow begins the start of the most hectic five years of your life."

"It can't possibly be worse than medical school," Bailey shrugged, motioning the bartender over. "I'll have lemonade with vodka, please." The bartender quickly poured his drink for him and handed it to him.

"You'll be eating those words later," Sofia giggled and smiled into his eyes.

"I'm more worried about meeting everyone's expectations. You have no idea what it's like to be the son of the surgeon who discovered the cure for Alzheimer's _and _the surgeon who first printed 3-D mapped veins using her mother's research, my grandmother, who also created _The Grey Method_."

"Way to brag, Shep," Sofia rolled her eyes, laughing.

"Shep is my dad," Bailey said defensively. "That's another thing. Everyone's going to be confusing me with my dad. Zola took on Grey-Shepherd to eliminate the confusion between our parents and her, so I couldn't do that. I'm just Dr. Shepherd, Jr."

Sofia shook her head. "Try being named after _three _surgeons, two of which are dead. Surgeons are like artists. They don't gain their true fame until after they're dead. My late mom and dad were pretty famous when they were alive, especially my dad, which is why I chose to take his name. I thought I'd have a chance at some success if I could be referred to as Dr. Sloan."

"Well, at least you had three last names to choose between," teased Bailey. Sofia giggled softly.

"Hey, want to go back to my place? We could make grilled cheese and watch scary movies," offered Sofia, moving her hair behind her ear and forming a dazzling smile at Bailey.

Bailey looked over at his sister and her boyfriend. "Sounds fun to me. Let's forget about the love birds, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sofia said with a hopeful smile on her face, sliding off the bar stool.

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**A/N - I have no business starting a new story, but I had this idea and had to go with it while it was fresh in my mind. It's my first "next generation" fic, so please give me some feedback. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Sofia**

The smell of burnt cheese lingered through Sofia's nostrils as the sunlight shining through her living room window brought her to consciousness. Her eyes were heavily matted and her throat ached. For a mere moment, she had forgotten what had happened the night before. She realized she wasn't lying in her bed, but instead, she was lying on the her couch with a throw blanket covering her body. She was still wearing her clothes from the night before. She groggily stretched her arm out, reaching for her cell phone that was lying on the end table. That's when she noticed Bailey Shepherd was passed out on her living room floor, with his head resting on one of her couch pillows. He looked so peaceful; his bushy, brown hair was a mess, and he was still wearing his jeans and plaid shirt from the night before.

Sofia grabbed her phone and immediately noticed the time. _Six thirty. _"Shit!" she cried out loud. They had thirty minutes to get to work. "Derek Bailey Shepherd, wake up!" she cried as she rolled off the couch and was on top of Bailey's back. She started to shake him. He groaned, opening his eyes.

"Just three more minutes," he mumbled. "It's too early."

"Get used to it, buddy. You have to get ready for your first thirty-six hour shift, and then you have to get used to five a.m. rounds. Wakey wakey, Bails." Sofia giggled.

She climbed on his back and pretended she was riding him like a horse. Memories of her childhood instantly came to her. Only, Bailey wasn't the horse in her memory. She was. It was hard to imagine that Bailey had once been smaller than her.

Bailey was now about 5'10" and 160 pounds. He was shaped very much like his father. Although he wasn't particularly large for a guy, he was big compared to her. Sofia hadn't inherited her mother's large frame; she was thin and struggled to gain weight. Though, she was strong, because she worked out whenever she could in order to build muscle mass.

According to her mother, she'd inherited her grandmother's superfast metabolism. Apparently, her grandmother hadn't been able to gain weight until after she gave birth. This was the grandmother who wouldn't even acknowledge her existence because she was born out of wedlock. The grandmother who Sofia had no recollection of meeting, but apparently she had once when she was a baby. Her grandmother refused to hold her, apparently. Her grandmother wouldn't even come to her graduations, though her grandfather had been there to support her all along. She'd grown particularly close to her Grandpa Torres.

"Okay, Sofi, okay, I'm up!" Bailey laughed, holding onto Sofia as he stood up. She held onto his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as he gave her a ride to her bedroom. He sat down on the bed, gently allowing her to land on the soft mattress.

"You know, I've missed this," Sofia admitted, heaving a loud sigh. "You, Zo, and I used to have the best of times when we were all at Dartmouth together. Now, Zo is all gaga for Tuck, so I've been kind of lonely lately. I'm glad you're back, Bails." She gazed into his blue-gray eyes; he shared his mother's eyes. Overall, Bailey Shepherd was the perfect mix of his parents. Bailey grinned widely; his also had his father's dorky smile.

"I'm glad I'm back, too," said Bailey. "I can't imagine a girl like you would have a problem finding a date, though."

Sofia felt her face flushing. "You'd be imagining wrong, then. Guys don't like me, Bails. I'm the nice girl. Guys don't like nice girls."

"Maybe you're just not interested in the right types of guys," shrugged Bailey. "And Zo's a nice girl, or at least she used to be, so what are you talking about?"

"Yeah, but Zo is a badass in the O.R. I'm just average. I wouldn't have made it through medical school without her," Sofia confessed, nervously pushing a string of her catastrophic hair behind her ear. She pictured Tuck's face in her mind, and her heart skipped a beat.. _Maybe you're not into the right type of guys. _Bailey was right; she wasn't.

Then, she looked at the clock on the wall. Ten minutes had passed since she'd last looked at the clock. "Shit, I have to take a shower! And, uh, so should you. I only have one shower, and you don't have time to make it home before work."

"We could take a shower together," joked Bailey. Sofia's eyes widened and her mouth dropped, shocked that Bailey would even suggest that. Bailey was like her little brother. Seemingly noticing the shock in Sofia's face, Bailey noted assuredly, "Sofi, I'm kidding."

"Yeah, I knew that. I'll take a five minute shower, then you can take a five minute shower. We'll be good," Sofia laughed, adding, "Another thing you learn during your residency: how to shower fast."

"Anything's better than having to go home and having to explain to my parents why I didn't come home last night," Bailey replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, we're going to have to talk about that," Sofia said. "You're twenty-five, Bails. Too old to be living with your 'rents. You know, I have an extra bedroom, right? You could move in with me. Rent would be reasonable, and I can't afford to keep this place on my own now. Zo and I originally got this place together, then four months later she moved in with Tuck. So, I am looking for a roommate…" She observed the blank expression on Bailey's face. "Uh, well, it's just something to think about. I'm going to hop in the shower now."

**Zola **

"Mm," Zola murmured as her alarm woke brought her to instant consciousness. The warm July sun shined through her bedroom window, and she felt Tuck move beside her. Just for one moment longer, Zola savored the relaxing warmth that infused throughout her body before she had to wake up and start the day. She folded her body in toward Tuck; his body heat radiated onto her skin. There was no better feeling than waking up next to the person you loved every single day.

"Morning, Zo," mumbled Tuck beside her. "Ready for New Intern Day?"

It was July 1st. The day every seasoned surgical resident and attending at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital dreaded and also looked forward to; it was the day new meat entered the surgical floors. They were the bottom of the surgical totem, and they only existed to make the residents' lives hell. Of course, three years ago Zola herself had started her internship. This was her second time being around as part of the "welcome crew" for new interns. Last year's interns had been an absolute nightmare. Three-fourths of them had dropped out of the program by mid-year, and none of them had passed their boards. People just didn't have what it took to make it through the program anymore. Not everyone was cut out for surgery. It definitely wasn't the lazy man's specialty.

This year was going to be different and a little strange for Zola. It was already wacky enough to work in the same hospital as her mother and father, but now her baby brother - who wasn't so much of a baby anymore - would be an intern at the same hospital.. Zola considered herself lucky, because when people just looked at her, nobody could guess she was related to Dr. Grey or Dr. Shepherd. It wasn't until they heard her name they started to raise questions. Bailey, on the other hand, was the perfect mix of both her parents. You could tell by looking at him that he was her parents' child.

Zola would be lying if she didn't admit that she worried about her little brother. He was a bit of a Momma's boy, and he wasn't that big. He wasn't good at defending himself, either. Part of it stemmed back to the fact that their parents had babied him, because he was the youngest, and though Zola knew her parents would never admit it, he was their only biological child. Zola had always felt protective of him. Leaving him a Dartmouth alone had been one of the hardest things she'd had to do. The idea of him being on the east coast with the whole family on the west coast had terrified her. She couldn't be there to make sure he studied for his exams. She'd left him with every flash card she'd ever created. Bailey had never had to fend for himself before. Though, as it seemed, he'd done all right on his own. After all, he had graduated medical school.

She knew that her brother had grown close to his Aunt Lizzie and Aunt Kathleen while on the east coast. When word had gotten out that she and her brother were going to medical school on the east coast, suddenly they'd had a wind of Shepherd aunts trying to get in contact with them. Zola particularly had no interest in getting to know them, but Bailey had always had an interest in getting to know his father's side of the family. When he was a teenager, he started following his aunts and all his cousins on Twitter. So, he'd been excited to get to know them better. Their aunts had managed to find her Twitter account, too, and they had followed her. Zola hadn't shared her brother's desire to follow them back. If they really wanted to get to know her, they would make a better effort to come see her in Seattle. As far as Zola was concerned, all the family she needed was in Seattle.

"So, are you ready to have your brother in the same hospital as you?" Tuck breathed in her ear, gently nibbling on her lobe.

"As ready as I'll ever be," laughed Zola.

"Hey, did you talk to Bailey last night?" asked Tuck.

"No, I didn't. You know, I would have thought he'd have called me when he got back into town. I hope his plane arrived all right.. I know Mom was picking him up at the airport. I would imagine Mom would have called me if something had happened. Knowing Bails, he spent the evening with Mom," Zola shrugged, leaning in and kissing Tuck on the cheek.

"I saw him last night," Tuck said slowly. "At Joe's."

"He was at the bar and didn't say hi? What? Are you sure it was him?" Zola's eyes widened. "That's not like Bailey to not even say hi to me."

"I saw him leaving with Sofia," Tuck told her. "I don't think he was there for long. I dunno. Maybe he and Sof, you know, hooked up."

"Sofi and my brother?" Zola giggled loudly. "You're kidding, right? Sofi is like a sister to Bailey. I can't see them ever together...like that, you know. If they did go home together, they probably made grilled cheese and watched scary movies and reminisced about college. That's just the kind of relationship they have...brother and sister. Besides, I'm pretty sure Sofi is a lesbian. She's never had a boyfriend that I know of, and I'm her best friend. I would know. Still, I'm going to kill Bailey for not even stopping by to say hi to me, his only sister, who he hasn't seen since Christmas! The little snot."

"Mm." Tuck laughed, and he crawled on top of Zola, wiggling his nose against Zola's and pressing his soft lips against her lips, giving her a slow, long and passionate kiss, which reminded Zola of their very first kiss.

"_You killed that surgery!" Tuck cheered, as he and Zola entered the scrub room to do their after-surgery scrub. "I would have never guessed that it was your first surgery. You're a natural professional." _

"_I'm no natural," Zola laughed, turning the water faucet on. She began scrubbing her hands together under the warm water. "I just happened to grow up with two surgeons in the house. I learned early on."_

"_Yeah, you're lucky that your parents found time to be surgeons and be parents. My mom was always working, so I spent most of my childhood either in daycare or with my dad, who wasn't a surgeon." _

"_What made you decide you wanted to be a surgeon, then?" Zola asked. "I mean, for me, it was my parents' enthusiasm toward their work. They used to talk about aneurysms and tumors at the dinner table. If your mother wasn't around when you were growing up, why would you want to become a surgeon?"_

"_Actually, I didn't at first," said Tuck. "I was very determined not to be one for the majority of my childhood, then when I was seventeen, my dad was helping me practice football. We were just tossing the ball back and forth in the backyard, then he collapsed. He had a heart attack that day, and his doctors told me that it was because of the quick action I took that he survived. That's when I decided I wanted to be a surgeon. I wanted to save other kids' dads' lives, too." _

"_Aw, that's sweet," Zola smiled at Tuck's story. They'd both finished scrubbing, and now they were just standing across from each other._

"_I can't get over how much you've grown up. I know we never really knew each other when we were kids, but I remember you when you were a little kid. You were a cute kid," Tuck laughed, moving closer to her. Zola immediately took note to his distinctive laugh. It was sort of cute._

_He was moving closer to her, and she could feel her cheeks blushing. "Uh, thanks? I'm sorry, but don't really remember you. I remember your mom quite clearly, though. She used to play with me when my parents were working sometimes. My parents always talked about her, too. I knew of you, but I don't remember seeing you. I'm sorry."_

"_Don't apologize," Tuck smiled handsomely. He edged closer to her and said, "My mom probably saw more of you when you were little than she did of me when I was a kid. You know, I remember the first day you came to daycare. You were so little then. You'd just had your surgery, so you were still wearing the bandage over your head. You were so cute. I knew then you would grow into a beautiful woman, which you have."_

"_Um," Zola whispered. "Thanks?" She didn't know how to respond. She wasn't used to a guy complimenting her on how cute she was as a child. Her parents always cooed over her baby pictures, but they were her parents. That was their job. _

_Tuck was standing right above her, staring into her eyes. Her heart was racing. His breath was warm and smelled like mint. His handsome brown eyes gazed down upon her. It felt so wrong but so right at the same time. He was her head resident; this wasn't appropriate. Though, her father had been her mother's attending. It wasn't the same level of power difference. She and Tuck were still learning, even though Tuck was three years ahead of her. _

"_I don't want to overstep any boundaries, but I was kind of hoping you'd grab lunch with me later. I understand if you don't want to be seen with your head resident, though. If that doesn't work, maybe we could grab a drink once your first shift is finished? You're going to need one, believe me. I needed one after my first shift."_

"_I'm probably just going to want to hit the sheets," laughed Zola. _

"_Well, I did hear a rumor floating around that you Grey women like to move quickly," Tuck insisted with a quirky smirk on his face._

"_Haha, you're real funny," Zola rolled her eyes. She'd heard the same rumors. "I'm not my mother, but I would definitely like to grab a drink with you sometime. We seem to have plenty to talk about." A wide smile formed on Tuck's face. Their mouths were literally centimeters apart. Zola's heart had never beat so hard in her life. Tuck's llps slowly touched hers, and she fell into him. His lips were soft and warm. His hands moved down to her waist, as he continued to fill her lips with a long, soft kiss._

_Then, the door swung open._

"_Uh-hem!" Zola pushed herself off Tuck and turned around, where she saw her mother standing. "Really, Zo, it's your first day as an intern and you're already making out with your boss in scrub rooms?"_

"_Like mother like daughter," stated Tuck dryly, then turned to Zola. "See you later, Zo." Tuck left the room, leaving Zola alone with her mother, who shot her daughter a stern glare._

"_Mom, I'm sorry, but he's a nice guy, and I didn't plan for it to happen. It just did. He kissed me," Zola explained to her mother._

"_Save it, Zo. You're not a child anymore. And for the sake of being professional at work, I think it's time that you get used to calling me Dr. Grey. However, I do think you can do better than Tuck, and it's definitely not a wise idea to start screwing your boss during your first year of residency."_

"_We weren't screwing, _Doctor _Grey. We were kissing. You're the one who screwed your boss during your intern year, and now you've been married for over twenty-five years. But, please, don't confuse me with you. I am not you. And considering all the guys I've dated in the past, I think Tuck is the cream of the crop. He's not a redhead. He doesn't have long hair. Oh, and he's a surgeon, like me. He's not a vet. I don't think I can do better," retorted Zola slyly then added, "And if we're going to be professional at work, then stop acting like my mom while I'm on the job. It's embarrassing."_

"_Mm. Well, let's just say that I better not be walking in on you in an on-call room next," her mother mumbled. The wrinkles surrounding her eyes stood out. She had definitely aged over the last few years. _

"_Again, I am not you, Dr. Grey!" Zola rolled her eyes, as she stormed out of the scrub room. _

Zola released a sigh, recalling the memory in her mind.

"What are you thinking about?" Tuck asked, looking down into her eyes.

"Oh, I was just thinking about our first kiss," chuckled Zola.

"And how your mom walked in on us?"

Zola nodded, and they both laughed.

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_**A/N**_** - Happy Halloween, everyone! Don't get too used to me updating this every day, but I'm really enthused about this story right now and have the next few chapters planned out. I know Meredith may be coming off a little like Ellis right now, but she's really just looking out for Zola. It'll become clearer as the story progresses. She's definitely no Ellis. Oh, and Arizona fans, I'm sorry she's dead, but I'm just not an Arizona liker, and there really wasn't a place for her in this story. Callie, Meredith, and Derek will all play prominent roles.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** **No characters introduced so far, or in this chapter, belong to me. All characters are property of Shondaland. Andi and Brandi are the twins from 8x11. Henry is from Private Practice.**

* * *

**Bailey**

Bailey had never felt so fearful to walk through the hospital doors of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. He'd spent his childhood in this hospital. He knew the hospital inside and out. When he, Sofia, and Zola were children, they used to play hide-and-seek during the summer time and school was out. There came a point that they were too old for the daycare, so they'd go exploring on their own. They'd discovered some of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital's best kept secrets, including a few secret passageways. Bailey often wondered if he, Zola, and Sofia knew the hospital better than their parents.

His stomach twisted into knots as he walked into the doors and saw a crowd of fearful-looking Interns standing by the front desk. Some of them looked as if they'd never seen the inside of the hospital before.

There were iPads arranged alphabetically on the desk. Bailey knew that these iPads would reveal their head resident. He realized that his iPad was the very last one remaining. He quickly grabbed it and opened it, eager to see who his head resident was. _Please, God, don't let it be Zola, _he thought. He loved his sister to death, but the idea of her bossing him around at work on a regular basis terrified him. She thought he was incapable of taking care of himself. She was his big sister, so she'd always felt obligated to protect him and to keep him out of harm's way. If she was his head resident, he knew that she would prevent him from seeing the inside of an O.R. for as long as she could because "he might mess up and that would hurt his feelings."

She was part of the reason he'd considered not coming back to Seattle. While he missed her after she left Dartmouth, he was somewhat relieved when she left. In college, she had forced him to study a ridiculous amount of hours, insisting he use her flashcards. He'd tried to explain to her that he would learn more if he made his own cards, but she didn't understand.

"_Mine are better than yours will be, though, plus they're already made up," she'd told him._

She just didn't get it. She'd left every flashcard she'd ever made with him when she graduated. Little did she know, he hadn't used a single one of them after she left, and he'd done fine on his own.

He opened the iPad and saw _Dr. Sloan_'s name_. _His heart fluttered at an instant. Sofia was his head resident. Could he have gotten luckier?

Bailey knew that the residents were randomly selected interns, so no one had done it on purpose. He was sure if interns were manually selected to interns, there was no way that she would have gotten Sofia. They'd want him with someone who didn't know him. However, that was hard in this hospital. Practically everyone knew his parents. Needless to say, though, Bailey wanted to keep it hush-hush for as long as possible from the other interns. He didn't want them to resent him. His college peers would outcast him once they found out who his parents were.

"_I didn't get into med school because of my last name," _he'd heard numerous times.

Chief Bailey, the woman whom Bailey Shepherd was named after, appeared before the interns. He smiled at her, but she acted as if she didn't notice he was in the room. If nothing else, he was grateful for that. He just wanted to be treated like the other interns. It didn't make sense for him to receive special treatment.

She began her speech and gave the interns a tour of the hospital. Bailey could sense that he was the only intern who knew exactly where they were going.

"Each of you comes here today hopeful. Wanting in on the game. A month ago, you were in med school, being taught by doctors. Today, you are the doctors. The seven years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and worst of your life."

Chief Bailey guided them into an O.R., and interns gazed in awe. He, on the other hand, didn't find the operating room to be anything spectacular. He could remember watching his parents perform surgeries when he was as young as three. The operating room felt like part of his home.

Chief Bailey continued her speech, "You will be pushed to the breaking point. Look around you. Say hello to your competition. Eight of you will switch to an easier specialty. Five of you will crack under the pressure. Two of you will be asked to leave. This is your starting line. This is your arena. How well you play, that's up to you."

Bailey Shepherd could sense the fear throughout the room, and he closed his eyes, trying not to feel their fear. But he did. What if he couldn't live up to his parents' legacy? They already expected great things from him because of Zola. What if he was just mediocre? Or worse, what if he cracked under pressure? That's just what he needed: to go down in history as the Shepherd who cracked under pressure.

He tried to breathe. He had one up on everyone else in the building. He already had friends in the building. The majority of them didn't know anyone yet. He knew that being a surgeon wasn't about making friends, but it certainly helped to have them.

The chief then showed them where they would find their shrubs and white coats, and finally, she showed them to the intern locker room.

"This is where you will change and keep your belongings. Your head residents will be meeting you here shortly to explain further rules and hospital procedures, so I'll expect that you'll be ready and changed when they come for you." Chief Bailey exited the room, leaving the interns to change into their scrubs.

Bailey chose a locker, which happened to be next to a blue-eyed, fair-skinned brunette. He gave her a weak smile. "Is this locker taken?" he decided to ask her politely, just in case.

Her face lit up, and she giggled. "It looks open to me, so have at it." He changed his clothes, and when he turned to his left, he saw the girl.

"I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Andi Evans." The girl pulled out her hand, and he smiled, shaking it. "And you are?"

"Uh, I'm Bailey," he said, purposely leaving his last name out.

"Looks like we already have one thing in common," Andi laughed.

"What's that?" Bailey asked.

"We have unisex names," Andi replied, chuckling. He laughed when he realized she had a point. They also both had unisex names which were more commonly used for the opposite gender. Then, Andi asked, "So, who's your resident?"

"Uh, So-Dr. Sloan," he answered.

"Me, too!" a female voice from behind him exclaimed.

Bailey whipped around, where he saw Andi standing. His eyes widened with shock and confusion. "But you were just…" he looked back, toward where Andi had been standing, and she was still was, then back at the other girl. "You're twins?"

"Bailey, meet my identical twin sister Brandi. Brandi, meet Bailey," Andi introduced them.

"Hey, Brandi. Wow, this is going to get confusing," observed Bailey, looking back and forth between the sisters, who were both dressed in their light blue scrubs. They were identical clones of each other. Even their hairstyles were identical; both wore their hair in a ponytail.

"Yeah, luckily we don't have the same resident," Andi said. "You all should be so jealous of me. I have Dr. _Zola Grey-Shepherd_!" Her face lit up as she said Bailey's sister's name. "She's like a legend, you know? I totally fangirled when I saw that she was my resident. Brandi and I have been following her on Twitter for like ever. I've tweeted her several times, but she's never replied. I can't wait to finally meet her in person. Her tweets are hilarious. I'm so going to have to get a selfie with her!"

Bailey tried to hold back a laugh, but he couldn't. He'd never known anyone to _fangirl _over his family. He knew they were well-known throughout the medical world, but he'd never seen anyone behave quite like this. His sister had over 300,000 followers on Twitter, and she only followed 20 people back; himself, his parents, Sofia, and Tuck included. He only had 500 followers, and he followed every single one of them back. The vast majority of his followers were Shepherd relatives and hospital staff members, though. Though, his profile was also locked, so he had to approve new followers. He was definitely more private than his sister. Also, almost every article that was published about his parents named him as "Derek Shepherd, Jr." He'd hated it at first, because he didn't want to be compared to his father. Now, he was grateful. It made concealing his identity just a little easier.

"Judging by the look on your face, you don't know who the Shepherd-Greys are, do you?" Andi asked, and then she continued without his answer, "Zola is the _daughter _of Dr. Meredith Grey and Dr. Derek Shepherd! Dr. Shepherd was part of the team who separated my sister and I at birth; we were born conjoined. We owe them our lives, but the family is famous for more than just separating us. Remember from our textbooks, Dr. Shepherd is the one who found the cure for Alzheimer's. And Dr. Grey is the daughter of the late Ellis Grey; please tell me you've heard of her. If you haven't, what rock are you living under? Anyway, Meredith Grey used her mother's research to print 3-D mapped veins for the first time. Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Grey both work in this hospital, which is one of the reasons Brandi and I both chose to do our residencies here. We couldn't imagine doing it anywhere else. Actually, it's thanks to Dr. Shepherd and the team who worked on us that we both decided to become doctors."

"Wow, that's amazing," Bailey smiled, biting his lip.

"Yeah, it is. There are quite a few legends in this hospital. Dr. Sofia Sloan, our resident, is the daughter of the late Dr. Mark Sloan! He was like a plastics God who worked on us, too, and her mom is Dr. Callie Torres, who was part of the team that separated us too. Oh, my gosh. I follow Dr. Torres on Twitter. I can't believe I'm going to be working beside her, and her daughter is my lead resident! It's all so surreal," Brandi chimed; she wore a flabbergasted expression on her face.

_Somebody's done their research, _Bailey thought, finding it a little creepy that these girls seemed to know everything there was to know about his family and one of his closest friend's family. He swallowed, and pressed his lips tightly together.

"Guess what I heard one of the other girls talking about, Andi?" Brandi widened her eyes as she asked her twin, who now had her Brandi's full attention. "I heard that Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Grey's son, Derek, Jr., is starting his internship here this year. I wonder which one he is. I bet he's hot. After all, his dad is McDreamy."

"I wonder if it's him," Andi pointed to a guy across the locker room, who was showing off his six pack abs. He had dark hair and tan skin. The girls giggled and pointed at the intern.

"I bet that's him. He's so hot," Brandi observed.

"You should go and ask him," Andi pushed her sister toward the guy.

"No way!" Brandi cried, and the guy turned around.

"May I help you ladies?" the guy asked. "The name's Henry, by the way. Henry Montgomery, to be exact. And yes, if you are wondering, I am the son of Dr. Addison Montgomery." He laughed, and Bailey's eyes widened.

"N-No way," mouthed Bailey. _Addison Montgomery. _He'd heard the name before, but not because of her so-called fame. Suddenly everything had just gotten weirder than it already was.

"Yup. My mom used to work here before she moved to L.A. Strangely enough, she wasn't happy about me doing my internship here. I mean, Grey Sloan Memorial is ranked number one for teaching hospitals in the U.S., so I don't know why she wouldn't want me to come here. Everyone wants to come here since the founder of the cure for Alzheimer's is here. I think she just wanted me closer to home, but I'm an adult now. I get to make my own decisions."

Bailey coughed. He wasn't going to be the one who broke the news to Henry that his mother used to be married to Bailey's father, which apparently his mother hadn't told him.

"Yeah, well, we heard that Derek Shepherd, Jr., is doing his internship here, so we were trying to pick him out. We thought you were him, sorry."

"Oh," Henry said quietly. "You have no idea who my mother is, do you?" The girls both looked at each other, and then they shook their heads. Bailey wondered if the Evans twins were lying, because they seemed to know everything else about his family. Surely, they had to know that his father had once been married to her. "Well, rats, this is embarrassing."

The door swung open. _Please be Sofi to the rescue, _Bailey thought, but then his heart dropped when he saw his mother enter the room. "There you are, pumpkin." She looked straight at Bailey, and he could feel his heart pounding furiously. His mom walked over and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Your father and I were worried sick about you last night. You didn't come home, and you didn't call."

"Uh, yeah, uh, Mom, I spent the night at Sof's," he explained quietly, feeling embarrassed. All the chatter in the room had dissipated, and he could feel everyone's eyes on him.

"Oh, well, you should have called, then," his mother insisted.

"I'm not exactly a child anymore," he said. He saw the worried frown on his mom's face. He pulled his mother outside of the locker room. "We, uh, need to talk, and not in there."

"Well, shoot, I'm here now," his mother insisted.

"Now is not the time. I'm preparing to go on my very first rounds," Bailey sternly replied.

"Okay, then. I'll have you put on my service, and we'll have all the time in the world to talk without interruption," his mother smiled widely, and she walked away.

His heart dropped as he went back into the locker room. He heard distinct whispers throughout the entire locker room.

"Well, if it isn't McPumpkin," Andi spoke up, and at an instant, Bailey Shepherd became the laughing stock of his intern class.


	4. Chapter 4

**Zola **

"I love you, baby," Zola whispered in Tuck's ear, then she gave Tuck a quick peck on the cheek out of habit, like she did every day, and she hoped to for the rest of her life, as they walked into the hospital. "Have a great day as your first day as an attending, Dr. Jones."

"You have a great day chaperoning the first-day interns around the hospital," Tuck laughed.

"Oh, I will," Zola replied sarcastically. "Hey, if you catch anything good, you'll page me, right?"

"As always," Tuck grinned, and then he began walking toward the Attendings' Lounge. He had decided to follow in his mother's footsteps to become a general surgeon. Zola hadn't decided on her specialty yet. Her father was quite possibly the best neurosurgeon in the country, and her mother and grandmother were both general surgery goddesses. Zola had always shared her father's passion for Neuro, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to spend the rest of her life cutting into people's brains. Brain surgery was serious business, and although she'd scrubbed in on a number of her father's surgeries, she still felt anxious every time she was in an O.R. with a patient's brain open on the table. She felt much more comfortable working with organs that weren't connected by billions of little neurons; knowing if she were to nick the wrong nerve, she could cause a person to lose his or her ability to speak or remember their children's names.

Her father always wanted her on his service, though, and sometimes she felt as though he was preparing her to take his place. He was getting older, and he often talked about retiring. He was always making the comment, "If I knew there was a neurosurgeon out there in the world that would do things exactly like I do, I'd retire right now." He would conveniently glance at Zola, then. She had three years left of residency, still, and then if she chose to specialize in Neuro, she would have to complete a two year fellowship. That would put her father into his seventies.

She headed toward the Residents' Lounge with a confident head on her shoulders. She had to portray herself as prepared for whatever the day would throw her way. The pressure of her family's legacy surrounded her on a daily basis. People expected greatness from her, but it wasn't something she thought about. When she was in the O.R. with a patient open on the table, her upbringing meant nothing. Who she was meant absolutely nothing. Zola wasn't concerned with "being the best." She didn't become a surgeon to "be the best," or even "to continue her parents' legacy." She became a surgeon because she saw how passionate her parents were about their jobs, and she wanted to feel the passion they felt. She'd always admired them, because they spent their days saving lives. She wanted to save lives. It was the patient who was important. The patients always came before her ego.

When she entered the Residents' Lounge, she saw Sofia sitting on a bench, appearing to have her full attention on her iPad. She didn't even bother to look up when Zola entered the room, nor did she say a word as Zola was changing into her light blue scrubs.

"Hey, Sofi," Zola finally broke the silence as she grabbed her own iPad and took a seat next to Sofia.

"Hi, Zo," Sofia replied softly, not bothering to look up from her iPad.

"So, what's new?" Zola asked, loading the app that would reveal the interns she would be in charge of this year.

"Not a whole lot," answered Sofia. "How's Tuck?"

"Well, he's an attending," Zola said hastily. "I should be happy for him, but I don't know why the idea of dating an attending while I'm still a resident makes me nervous. I mean, my mom was an intern when she started dating my dad. But still. He has actual power in the hospital now."

"I don't know why you're so worried," Sofia stated, with a certain sort of bitterness in her voice. "Now you'll just have another attending sending the best surgeries your way. As if Daddy favoritism wasn't enough. Now you'll have boyfriend favoritism."

"What the heck are you talking about, Sof?" Zola released out a loud gasp, but not because of what Sofia said, though because of the name she read on her screen. Henry _Montgomery _was the name of one of her interns. Zola found herself gazing with a blank expression at the name. Her father's ex-wife's name was Montgomery. Zola had never met her personally, but she'd heard plenty of stories. The rumor mill at Grey Sloan Memorial was filled with stories of her parents' pasts. The fact that she knew details about her father's ex-wife sometimes disturbed her. _Montgomery. It has to be a coincidence, _she thought.

"You don't see my mother giving me surgeries left and right just because I'm her daughter. She treats everyone fairly, but your father practically has you scrub in on every one of his surgeries. We all know it's because you're his daughter. He won't let any of the other residents near his service." Zola felt her body go numb. "What the heck is wrong with you, Zo? You look like you just saw a ghost. Sorry, I'm just speaking the truth, and you know it. Sometimes the truth hurts."

"Shut up, Sofia!" Zola hissed, and abruptly the door opened. It was her father.

"How are my favorite residents?" her father welcomed his daughter and practical-surrogate daughter with a wide grin on his face.

Zola glared at Sofia. "We're just fine," she said, trying to exhibit calmness. She stood and wrapped her arms around her father. "How are you, Dad?"

"Well, I'm tired, and I have a craniotomy scheduled for eleven today. I'd be better knowing my best resident was available to scrub in," her dad said to Zola.

"Well, I'll see if I can clear my schedule," replied Zola, seeing Sofia roll her eyes through the corner of her eye.

"That's great. See, you just made my day one hundred times better," her father's face lit up, then he added, "Oh, and I was thinking this would be the perfect procedure to offer a first-year intern to scrub-in to observe. What do you think, Zo?"

"Oh, yeah. That's a great idea," she agreed, nodding her head.

"So, you'll pick me an intern, then? Just don't pick your brother. I don't want him under the impression that he's going to get special treatment or anything because of his lineage." Dr. Derek Shepherd winked at his daughter; his blue eyes sparkled.

"Hah, right," Zola chuckled.

"Well, I shall see you around eleven, then. Have a great day, girls." Her father waved, and then he left the room, leaving Zola and Sofia alone.

"Gag me a river," Sofia stated with a face full of disgust. "Thanks for proving my point."

"Did you ever once think to consider that he chooses me because I know what I'm doing?" Zola shot at Sofia. "Brain surgery isn't a game, and it's certainly not for everyone. I also think he's preparing me to take his place, Sof. He wants to retire."

"Do you want to become a neurosurgeon?" Sofia asked.

"I don't know," Zola replied quickly. "Sofia, what's wrong? You've never seemed upset about my scrubbing in with my dad in the past. Now, all of a sudden you're jealous? What's going on?"

"It's nothing," Sofia responded in a rushed voice, then she mumbled, "I just miss my best friend sometimes."

"I'm right here," Zola insisted, wrapping her arm around Sofia. "I never went anywhere."

"Yeah, sure. You're with Tuck ninety-nine percent of the time," Sofia noted, adding bitterly, "I never pegged you as the type of girl who would forget her friends when she had a boyfriend, but I guess I was wrong."

"Okay, I have been spending a lot of time with Tuck lately. Sorry, but I haven't forgotten you, Sof. Hey, what's this I hear you left the bar with Bailey last night?" Zola interrogated Sofia, adding, "The twerp never even said hello to me."

"Maybe if you weren't indulging yourself with Tuck, you would have seen him yourself," Sofia responded dryly.

**Sofia**

Sofia didn't believe the words which had just exited her mouth. Those words were an accumulation of months' worth of thoughts. She used to be able to tell Zola her every thought. Though, things had changed since she'd started seeing Tuck. She felt as though Zola only had sight for Tuck, and she was blind to everyone else around her. This was an overdue confrontation.

"I'm sorry, Sof," Zola whispered. "Maybe we should have a girls' night soon. Just the two of us, okay? Well, I guess Bailey can come along too, if he wants, then it would be like old times - just the three of us. We used to have so much fun together."

"I'd like that," Sofia smiled weakly, meeting Zola's brown eyes with her eyes.

Zola wrapped her arm around Sofia and gave her a tight hug. "I still love ya, girl," Zola assured her, then gave her a side butt kick. "That's for thinking I didn't and not telling me sooner." Both girls giggled, and for a moment, it felt like old times.

"Thanks, Zo," she expressed her gratefulness for Zola's understanding. She knew that Zola could have stormed out of the room, choosing not to dig to the bottom of the problem, but that wasn't the Zo that Sofia knew. Sofia didn't know why she hadn't confronted Zola sooner; after all, she and Zola had never had a major fight. Zola wasn't the type of person who liked to argue, and when people tried to start a fight with her, she didn't walk away. Zo was big on finding the source of the problem, something their parents had always insisted they do when they were children.

"So, funny story," Zola began.

"Oh? You have my attention," Sofia focused on Zo's smile.

"Tuck made this crazy insinuation this morning that you and Bailey hooked up last night," Zola said, then she burst into laughter. Sofia's eyes widened. "Isn't that the craziest thing you've ever heard of.'

Sofia broke into laughter; she was laughing so hard that tears started to form in her eyes.

"That's - that's insane!" Sofia cried, then she remembered Bailey's suggestion that morning. "Though, it's hilarious that you mention that, because Bailey asked me to take a shower with him this morning." Zola stopped laughing and froze.

"H-He what!" Zola spat.

"Relax, he was just kidding. He's like my little brother," Sofia insisted, then added hesitantly, "though, he has grown up quite a bit since I last saw him. It's hard to believe that he used to be the little guy who we used to cover in bandages when we were kids. He's really grown up, Zo."

"Are you, uh, sure he was just kidding?" Zola asked.

"Why wouldn't he be?" shrugged Sofia. "I thought you'd find it funny, so that's why I told you, but you're acting like it meant something. Zo, do you know something I don't?"

"No, I mean, I've barely talked to my brother in six months. Mom, Dad, and I flew out east for his medical school graduation in May, then he told us he wasn't coming back with us so he could spend some more time with his aunts and cousins on the east coast before coming back to Washington. You probably talked to him more last night than I have in a while now," Zola insisted.

"Okay, then," Sofia raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, um, if you _wanted _to sleep with my brother, I say go for it," shrugged Zola, who took a glance at the clock.

"What?" Sofia dropped her jaw, shocked at the words that had just come out of her best friend's mouth. She'd never even thought of Bailey in that way, but all of a sudden a brief image of Bailey Shepherd standing before her naked flashed into Sofia's head. She wasn't picturing the toddler who she used to cover with bandages for fun. She was picturing a full-grown man, with chest hair, six pack abs, and a decent sized penis. _Image, get out now, _she thought to herself, pushing the inappropriate thoughts out of her head. Bailey was her surrogate brother, and now he was her intern. She wasn't allowed to fantasize about him.

Her eyes went to the clock, where she realized they needed to go meet their interns. There was something else on Sofia's mind that she'd almost forgotten: The fact that she only had two interns. She hadn't even mentioned to Zola that she had Bailey.

"I'm just saying, Sof, I'd rather you bang my brother than some random diseased person on the street. Of course, I don't know what Bailey's been up to these last couple years, but you know what I mean," Zola patted Sofia on the back. "We better get going."

"Yeah, uh, how many interns do you have?" Sofia asked.

"Two, why?"

"Oh, it's just I thought we usually had four or five. I thought maybe Chief Bailey thought I wasn't capable of handling more than two interns at a time, so I thought it was a little weird, but clearly that's not the case since you only have two, too."

"You didn't hear? This year's class is substantially smaller than usual. After last year's duds, Chief Bailey made it near-impossible to get accepted into the internship program at Grey Sloan Memorial. Something about being afraid that our number one ranking could drop because all the interns failed the exam last year. My dad told me."

"Of course he did," Sofia sighed. "Your dad tells you everything. I mean, don't get me wrong, you're lucky to have such a strong relationship with your father. I wish I had that strong of a relationship with my mom. We used to be so close when I was young, and I don't know what happened. Ever since I've started my residency. I feel like she doesn't want me here. She won't let me near her surgeries, and I've always had an interest in Ortho."

"Maybe you need to tell her that, then," Zola suggested. "It can't hurt, can it?"

Sofia nodded, trying to remember the last time she'd actually had a conversation with her mother one-on-one. They used to be so close when she was growing up, even throughout her mother's grieving. She'd gone through a deep depression after Sofia's other mom had died. She'd always made an effort to look strong for Sofia, though. She didn't want her to see her cry, so she left Sofia with Zola's family. Sofia could remember one time, her mother had gone away for a couple months. She remembered her mother later telling her that she'd gone to California to visit her friend Addison. All Sofia could remember was how much happier her mother looked when she returned.

As time passed, most girls fought with their mothers during their teen years. She'd watched Zola and her mother go round and round about the boys she was dating. Sofia hadn't had that problem. Boys didn't like her, and she was too shy to approach the ones she did like.

Her mother had even supported her when she told her that she was choosing to use her father's last name. She'd been proud of her, to carry on her father's last name on her white coat.

But now, it felt like her mother was disappointed in her. Was she not the surgeon her mother dreamed of giving birth to? Sofia had never felt so distant from her mother. Zola was right; she did need to confront her.

Sofia and Zola headed to the intern locker room.

"Evans, Montgomery!" Zola called out her interns' names.

Sofia completely managed to overlook the fact that one of Zola's interns had the same last name as hers. Instead, her focus centered on the other name. _Montgomery. _Sofia's mouth dropped at the familiar name that had been spoken, and then she glanced at Zola and then at the young man who approached Zola after she'd called the names.

Zola turned her head, and Sofia's focus shifted to her own interns. "Evans and Shepherd!" Sofia called out, scoping the room for Bailey. She spotted him walking toward her, but he looked disgruntled. A brunette followed behind him. She looked at Sofia, then at Bailey, and giggled softly.

"Already sleeping with your boss, are you now?" Sofia heard the girl whisper into Bailey's ear, and Sofia's heart stopped for a split second. She saw that Bailey's face was flushed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Bailey**

Bailey's mouth dried as he could sense his cheeks getting hot. Before Sofia had arrived, Brandi and Andi had connected that when he'd told his mother that he'd spent the night at "Sof's house," he was talking about Sofia, who also happened to be his resident. Brandi, Andi, and Henry then began insisting that they were having sex like rabbits all night long. Bailey had refused to comment, because he thought their accusations were totally inappropriate, so they assumed that no response meant that he had. In reality, Bailey was disturbed by their accusations. Sofia had been one of his closest friends since he was in diapers. A guy and a girl could be friends without the benefits.

He knew that Sofia had heard Brandi's comment when he saw the befuddled look on her face. Her thin dark eyebrows were rose, and her dark pupils had swelled as she stared at Bailey with perplexity. Bailey didn't want to begin to imagine what was going through her mind. Did she think that he had actually had the audacity to tell the other interns that he had in fact slept with her, whilst knowing it was a lie? Did she think that it was a lie he'd told just to sound cool? He hoped that she knew him better than that. The last thing Bailey Shepherd wanted was to be "cool." He'd never been particularly interested in fitting in. It wasn't his nature or his character. He wasn't self-absorbed, and he'd never had the desire to be in with the popular crowd. Life wasn't a popularity contest in his eyes. Bailey had always believed that the world would be better off if everyone in the world was on an equal playing field.

Bailey swallowed, and then Sofia instructed Brandi and him to follow her.

As they walked, Brandi started to babble. "So, you're the daughter of the late Dr. Mark Sloan, right? That's pretty amazing. You know, he operated on my sister and I when we were babies."

"Did he?" Sofia asked, seemingly disinterested, but Brandi didn't seem to notice as she continued to ramble.

"Yeah, you see, my sister and I were born conjoined. Hey, weren't you also related to Dr. Arizona Robbins? I read in her obituary that you were her daughter, but I was confused because isn't your mother also Dr. Callie Torres, the fabulous orthopedic god? Dr. Robbins cared for my sister and me from birth; it's really a tragedy with what happened to her, and Dr. Torres also operated on my sister and me."

First, Sofia shot a look at Bailey. Bailey could sense the annoyance in her face. Throughout all the years of their friendship, Bailey could count on one hand the number of times he had seen Sofia mad. She had a very passive personality, and she often tried to hide her feelings until they were alone. Sofia had never hesitated to rant to him, but in public, she always tried to hide her feelings.

Maybe it was because he knew her so well and could read her like a book, but Bailey could tell that Sofia wasn't hiding her feelings of annoyance and frustration at this moment. Admittedly, Bailey thought she was cute when she was angry. Her nose wrinkled, and her eyes squinted. Her eyes were glowing as she passed stern look at Brandi. She transformed even more beautiful in the light of her frustration.

Bailey found himself observing Sofia from head to toe. He couldn't help but notice how incredibly sexy she looked in her light blue scrubs, even when she was upset. She curled her lip under her teeth. His eyes then focused in on her white coat. His eyes helplessly could not avoid her perfect breasts, still noticeable under all the scrubs. Bailey blinked, knowing he shouldn't be looking there, and his eyes then focused on the left side of her coat, which had _Dr. Sofia Sloan _engraved in dark blue letters. He placed his hand on his empty coat. All he had to do was survive this year, and he would have a white coat with his name on it, too. He just hoped they would engrave _Bailey _and not _Derek _on his coat.

"Listen to me closely," Sofia spoke up, her voice slightly hoarse. She walked over to the front desk. "I have five rules." Her voice began to rise, "Five rules that you will abide at all costs. Rule number one. Don't bother sucking up. I already hate you, and this includes telling me about your personal life. I don't want to hear it. I don't tell you about my personal life. You don't tell me about yours, got it? When you're here, I'm not your friend; I'm your boss."

Sofia looked directly at Bailey, and his heart stopped for a second, in total disbelief that he had just heard the words that had just exited her mouth. He didn't want to believe that she was talking directly to him. He knew that she didn't hate him, either. Bailey knew that the speech she was reciting was the one they gave every year, though she had added the part about personal lives because of Brandi. Bailey swallowed, preparing himself not to take a word Sofia said personally. After all, she was right, at work she was his boss, not his best friend.

In the corner of his eye, Bailey noticed Brandi had rolled her eyes.

Then, Sofia took a deep breath, "Rule number two. The nurses have all your cell phone numbers, and they will page you via text, and YOU will respond to those texts at a RUN!"

Sofia's voice amplified to the loudest tone Bailey had ever heard it speak. Her loud voice had a slight squeak to it. Bailey tried to hold back his laughter, but he couldn't resist. He tried to cover his mouth with his hand, but he soon found himself laughing uncontrollably. He then noticed Brandi starting to giggle. Only, he could sense that she was giggling at him, not at Sofia.

"Uh-hem," Sofia coughed briefly, adjusting her vocals. "What is so funny, _Dr. Shepherd_?" She looked around. "I don't see anything amusing about anything I've just said."

Bailey bit his lip, blushing. He gazed into Sofia's eyes, trying to read her, but for the first time, he couldn't get a clear read off her. Her face was stern, and he sensed seriousness in her face. He frowned. "Nothing, Sofi-_Dr. Sloan_."

"That's right. I'm Dr. Sloan to you here. Anyway, carrying on." Sofia looked back and forth between Bailey and Brandi. She started to walk toward an on-call room. "Your first shift starts now and lasts thirty-six hours. On-call rooms are for sleeping, and sleeping only. Sleep when you can and where you can, which brings me to rule number three. If I'm sleeping, don't waking me up unless your patient is dying. Rule number four, the dying patient better be alive when I get there, because then you would have not only have killed someone, but you would have woken me for no good reason. Do you have any questions?"

"Um, you said there were five rules," Bailey said, trying not to snicker. He didn't know why seeing Sofia in charge was so utterly amusing to him. It wasn't something he was used to. He was used to the sweet friend who liked to watch scary movies and make grilled cheese with him while joking about Zola's latest boyfriend; his sister had dated plenty of crazy guys over the years.

Tuck was the first guy that Sofia hadn't bluntly insulted behind Zola's back. Bailey knew that must be a good sign, if Sofia wasn't trying to convince Zola to break up with Tuck. Bailey didn't know the guy well; he'd only briefly become acquainted with him at holiday get-togethers. He seemed like an alright guy, though for some reason, their mother didn't seem too fond of him. Though, from what Bailey had heard from Zola, Tuck's mom adored Zola, which was entirely uncanny, because Chief Bailey didn't adore anyone. Back when she was his mother's resident, everyone had called her "The Nazi." Nonetheless, Miranda Bailey had entertained joyfully the idea of her son dating Zola Grey-Shepherd. Bailey didn't know why his mother would have a problem with Zola and Tuck dating, considering his mother and father had been so inclined to name him after Chief Bailey.

Sofia's phone released a vibrant buzz. She pulled her phone out of her lab coat, glanced at it, and yelled, "Rule number five. When I move, you move! Follow me, NOW!"

Brandi and Bailey raced after Sofia, who ran them straight into the emergency room. Bailey Shepherd knew that this was the place where chaos occurred. He looked around at the beds, many full of patients, and a number had the currents pulled. You wouldn't know by looking at the newly renovated ER that a horrifying tragedy had occurred in that spot a decade ago.

"Five-year-old girl fell off a horse, broken leg, someone page Ortho!" Dr. Alex Karev yelled, directing the stretcher into the emergency room. Bailey froze when he saw the little girl's leg wasn't just broken. Her bone had cut through the skin on her leg. Her leg was covered in blood. His eye twitched, as he watched Dr. Karev position the girl.

Bailey had always known Dr. Karev as "Uncle Alex." He and his mother were the last who remained from their intern class. At the beginning of each year, every intern class was told that only two would survive. Bailey thought back to all the interns that had been in the locker room. He knew that this year's class was substantially smaller than previous years, because Chief Bailey had tightened the program, making it more difficult to get into. Bailey often wondered if he wouldn't have gotten in if it hadn't been for his parents.

He'd spent a lot of time with his Uncle Alex when he was growing up. He and his wife, Dr. Jo Wilson and fellow pediatrics surgeon, had two daughters, Lillian and Sadie. Lillian was at Iowa State and had just started her first year of med school. Sadie was a senior in high school. Sometimes Bailey felt like Alex's substitute son. They'd gone to ball games and played ball in the backyard. They were close. So, Bailey was relieved to see another familiar face.

It was beginning to feel surreal for Bailey - working in the hospital he'd grown up in as a child. He was now working beside the doctors who had helped raise him. These were the same doctors who had been through a number of tragedies throughout the years. Standing in the E.R. brought back tragic memories for Bailey.

_He and Zola had been home alone when he first heard about it. They were just teenagers at the time, and he remembered never feeling more scared in his life. It was just past eight o'clock, and their parents were normally home by then. However, it wouldn't be the first time they'd gotten called into a late night surgery. It wasn't anything Zola and Bailey weren't used to. They had become accustomed to making their own dinners. _

_Then, the tweet appeared that instilled instant fear through Bailey's veins. He could feel his blood boil as he read the tweet Unknown Fire Set to Seattle Hospital, Doctors' Lives in Danger. He clicked the link, which confirmed his worst fear. Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital was on fire. He remembered picking up his phone and dialing his mom's number. When he received no answer, he called his dad. When his dad didn't answer, he ran downstairs, where he saw Zola holding her car keys. She was talking on the phone with Sofia. _

"_Go back upstairs," Zola demanded at Bailey. Tears were streaming from her eyes. _

"_Where are you going?" Bailey demanded. _

"_You need to stay here," Zola said. "I'm going to go see what's going on."_

_"No!" Bailey bellowed. "If you're going, so am I."_

_Zola rolled her eyes. "Fine," she sighed, then spoke into her phone, "I have to go, Sof. I'll call you back when I know more." She ended the call, and she and Bailey got into her car and began to drive away from their safe cabin in the woods and toward the hospital. _

_They were a few miles away from the hospital when they spotted the flames. The flame grew larger as the siblings drove closer to the hospital. Bailey would never forget the sight of those bright, vibrant flames. He remembered thinking he might never see his parents again…_

Luckily, his parents had escaped the flames. Unfortunately, a number of doctors, nurses, and patients at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital hadn't been so lucky. The fire, which later was classified as an arson which had been set by a psychotic patient, had killed twenty-five people, including six doctors. The current Chief of Surgery, Owen Hunt, had been among those deaths. Dr. April Kepner, Dr. Leah Murphy, Dr. Stephanie Edwards, Dr. Shane Ross, and Dr. Jackson Avery all lost their lives in the fire. The fire had united the City of Seattle in mourning. Afterward, a huge memorial service was arranged in honor of those who lost their lives.

Bailey would never forget seeing a portion of this hospital in ashes. Luckily, firemen had been able to stop the fire from spreading outside of the Emergency Room. Fundraising had provided the money the hospital needed to rebuild the E.R., which took about five years. Now, Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital was ranked as a number one trauma center again, and they had pushed past the devastation that had occurred. However, the doctors who lost their lives were not forgotten. Photographs of each doctor who died that day now hung on the walls of the new Emergency Room, and it had been renamed the Hunt-Avery-Kepner Emergency Room.

The horrible event had also brought back his mother's former best friend, Dr. Cristina Yang. Earlier that year, Dr. Yang had been a recipient of the Harper Avery Award. Bailey had grown up hearing wonderful stories about Dr. Yang from her father, including about how she had saved her father's life after he'd been shot by a crazy gunman in the hospital. However, Bailey had sensed a certain bitterness about her former friend from his mother. When Bailey was only a year old, though, she'd taken a position across the country. His mother had explained that she and Dr. Yang had drifted apart, and Dr. Yang felt she needed to move away from Seattle. She was going through a divorce with Dr. Hunt, and she needed to move on. She'd dedicated her life to cardiothoracic surgery, which had earned her the Harper Avery.

Before his death, Owen had remarried to Emma Marley, and he left behind one son, Zachary, who was six at the time of his father's death. Emma and Zachary moved away soon after Owen's death.

That was the first time he'd met Cristina Yang, who had been his mother's twisted sister during their residency. She'd spent a day at their house, telling Zola and him stories about her and their mother's residency. Their father teased about how Cristina used to have sleepovers in their bed with him in it. At one time, it appeared, Cristina had been closer to their mother than their father had been. When Zola asked what had happened, the women had merely looked at each other.

"_People grow apart; it's part of life. Your mom took the traditional route. She became your mother, and I must say she's an amazing mother by looking at you kids, and I chose not to have a family and to be career driven." There were tears in Cristina's eyes as she looked at their mother. "And I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." The women exchanged a warm hug. _

Afterward the memorial, his mother and Dr. Yang regained touch, and she'd gone to visit her in Minnesota a few times since. Her mother had insisted Cristina return to Seattle, but Cristina resisted, insisting there were too many horrible memories in this city. She was happy now as the Head of Cardio at her hospital. She'd built a new life for herself. Though, she was happy to be in contact with her twisted sister again.

Dr. Callie Torres had just arrived when the buzz from Bailey's phone alarmed him. It was his first page. He pulled out his phone, and he saw a text from his mother.

_Meet me in room 204. _

He read the text, and without saying a word to anyone, ran out of the Emergency Room. After all, he was supposed to respond to his pages at a run.

* * *

**A/N - Okay, I think I answered the question about what happened to all the other characters. I'm somewhat like Shonda. When I no longer find a character useful, I kill them. At least Meredith and Cristina are good. :) It seems like a lot of you like the idea of Sofia/Bailey. Yes, this story will focus more on Bailey and Sofia than it will on Tuck and Zola. Zola will still be a major part in the story, nonetheless. However, it won't be a joyride for Bailey and Sofia. I'm not that type of writer. There will be plenty of tension and drama to go around! **


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